Unemployment stays below 5% in most TN counties

NASHVILLE – Unemployment rates in nearly every Tennessee county remained under 5 percent during May 2018, according to Burns Phillips, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development commissioner, in a June 21 announcement.

Ninety-three of Tennessee’s 95 counties recorded a rate in May that was less than 5 percent. Unemployment in two counties was 5 percent or greater during the time period.

Shelby County

Labor force, May 2018: 445,380

Employed, May 2018: 428,990

Unemployed, May 2018: 16,390

Rate, May 2018: 3.7

Rate, April 2018: 3.5

Change, April 2018: 0.2

Rate, May 2017: 3.9

Change, May 2017: -0.2

Labor force estimates for Bartlett:

Labor force, May 2018: 31,220

Employed, May 2018: 30,420

Unemployed, May 2018: 800

Rate, May 2018: 2.6

Rate, April 2018: 2.4

Change, April 2018: 0.2

Rate, May 2017: 2.9

Change, May 2017: -0.3

Other counties

Williamson County had the lowest unemployment in the state with a rate of 2.1 percent, which was 0.1 of a percentage point higher than it was in April.

At 2.2 percent, Davidson County followed with the second lowest rate in the state for May. That figure represented a 0.1 of a percentage point increase from the previous month.

Lauderdale County had the highest unemployment rate in Tennessee during May. Its rate of 5.3 percent was an increase of 0.4 of a percentage point from the previous month. Houston County’s 5.2 percent unemployment rate was 0.2 of a percentage point higher than its April rate.

For 11 consecutive months, Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate has been at 3.5 percent or lower. In May the rate was 3.5 percent, which was an increase of 0.1 of a percentage point from April, but still 0.3 of a percentage point lower than the May 2017 rate.

Nationally, the unemployment rate dropped in May for the second consecutive month. It was 3.8 percent, a decrease of 0.1 of a percentage point from the month before.